My Way France in 13 Days

We took this tour in Spring 2024. It's a great mix of cities (Paris, Lyon) and quintessential FR regions [Provence, Côte d'Azur] in a two-week itinerary. We found it to be an optimal blend of Efficiency, with RSE managing the hotels and transportation; and Flexibility, to see what we wanted (for as long as we wanted) without the confines of a regular tour moving on to the next scheduled nearby site. If you can, add on some additional days in Paris beforehand and at the tour's conclusion in Nice. You won't regret having extra time in either locale. :)

We finished this tour the first week in June. It was our 3rd My Way tour and we’ve done 9 regular tours. The My Way tours have worked really well for visiting previous places and seeing new sites, setting our own pace and being able to leave most of the transportation and hotel work to RS while I work on restaurants and activities. Our tour managers have always included an optional walk in every new location as well as information on the bus on history, etc… Each manager has his own spin, but they all seem to include some optional happy hours and optional group dinner. Our France manager included each region’s particular wine as we traveled along. All our managers have been available and willing to try and facilitate individual requests (like para-gliding in Annecy or whatever they call is where you jump off a cliff and fly around).

One of the biggest surprises is how well the groups have bonded. Whether it’s because we’ve all had to do our own planning so we share tips and ideas, or the kind of person that feels comfortable doing their own work, the groups have been congenial. We’re still connected and communicating on our WhatsApp group chat with our French partners.

I hope this helps. You may also want to look at the scrapbooks that you can access on the Our Tours page. There are some My Way France ones in 2024 and 2025.

Thx Patty that’s great information and very helpful. I think we would fit well in this format.

Thanks for the great information. We are taking the My Way France tour starting September 8. Question: Should we reserve ahead entrances to the chateaux, Pont du Gard, and the cable car to Aiguille du Midi? Also, any suggestions for biking from Amboise? Merci bien.

That’s the exact time frame I want to do this tour in 2028. Not sure about tickets for the chateaux or Pont du Gard but for the cable car it’s a timed entry and you have no idea what time the bus will arrive in Chamonix. Also weather could affect it also. You could email Rick Steves customer service and see if you can find out the typical arrival time. They were able to help me for my tour next year. I plan on doing it also. I’ve been to Chamonix 3 times and up the Aiguille du Midi 1 time. And I skied the Mer De Glacé all the way to the bottom.

Should we reserve ahead entrances to the chateaux, Pont du Gard, and
the cable car to Aiguille du Midi?

Entrance to Chambord, Chenonceau and Pont du Gard were included when we took the tour a couple years ago. Our tour manager arranged for Aiguille du Midi (tix) for which we reimbursed. I'm not sure if this still applies on current tour inclusions, but a call to RS' Edmonds offices would provide certainty (so you know whether you need to purchase anything in advance). Have a great trip!

On our tour,entry to Chateau Chambord was included. Chateau Chenonceau was not included and the tour office advised us to book the earliest time. I booked our tickets in February for the 9:15 a.m. spot. The bus left Amboise at 8:30 and we were some of the first people in. People in our group booked the Aguille Midi close to arrival because weather has such an impact. Some people booked for a 10:10 lift and others got 11:10. The bus was originally scheduled to leave at 8:30 but they moved it to 8:00. Return was planned for mid-afternoon but was flexible to account for weather.